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Summary
Summary
When their teacher gives a joint storytelling assignment, a boy and a girl have different ideas of how their fairy tale should evolve. Can they agree on who will live happily ever after? With a cool motorcycle dude and a beautiful princess the possibilities are endless!
"Hilarious book, perfect for reading aloud." -Barnes & Noble
Once upon a time there was ... a princess who loved all her beautiful ponies, a cool muscle dude who rode an awesome motorcycle. But a giant came and started stealing them! The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. And he took the princess's gold thread for payment The end!
Wait a minute! That's not how it ends!
Oh no?
Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will everyone live happily ever after?
Author Notes
KEVIN O'MALLEY is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share . He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
www.booksbyomalley.com
Carol Heyer used to argue with the boys in her class about important things like princesses and giants, so she enjoyed collaborating on this dueling boy and girl story. Now Carol is a full-time writer and illustrator whose books have sold over a million copies.
Scott Goto thinks illustrating a story about a dude who battles giants with a bike and a big sword is the perfect way to start the day. However, the only bike he has is pedal powered, and he fought a giant once in school and got squashed. But he does own a big sword.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Three artists with distinct styles combine efforts for this rollicking story, which takes on the topic of gender differences with humor and insight. O'Malley's (Cinder Edna) cartoon-like boy and girl, their words appearing in thought balloons, present a library project. "I'll begin the story," says the girl. "My beginning is better, but go ahead," the boy responds, hinting at the book's tensions from the get-go. Heyer (The First Easter) illustrates the girl's story of Princess Tenderheart in flowing purple and pink robes, as she plays with her "eight beautiful ponies" (e.g., Jasmie, Nimble, Sophie, etc.). Her favorite was Buttercup, the girl reports from the bottom left-hand corner of the framed illustration; the boy, on the opposite corner, chagrined and somewhat panicked, says, "Please... don't call him Buttercup. Call him Ralph or something." After a giant steals the ponies and the weeping princess spins straw into gold, the boy directs the proceedings ("That's it... I can't take it anymore," says he). Goto's (Heat Wave) full-bleed spreads in garish hues signal a change in tone: "One day this really cool muscle dude rides up to the castle on his motorcycle." Naturally, the girl objects to this line of development. The story then becomes a collaborative effort (all three artists' styles appear on each page), as the two resist confining their characters to stereotypes. Entertaining and sophisticated, this book would make a great conversation starter about issues of gender stereotyping, and the benefits of teamwork. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A girl and a boy can't agree on a favorite fairy tale, so together they contrive one that alternately stars a princess (her passion) and a motorcycle dude (his). The format is innovative--the kids address the reader while standing before their fantasy images--but the three artists' styles compete, and the sexist premise is awfully glib. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. A girl and a boy create a fairy tale in this lively picture book. The girl starts first, with a story about a princess and her eight ponies, while the boy interjects comments: Please . . . don't call the pony Buttercup. When the boy has had enough, he steps in with a sword-wielding, motorcycle-riding hero who battles a giant, while the princess is assigned the boring job of making thread. Fed up with these developments, the girl delivers the final plot twist, turning her princess into a warrior who sends the giant scurrying back to his cave. The fun in this picture book comes in the contrasting styles of the illustrations, which include contributions from Carol Heyer and Scott Goto. The girl's story features bright colors, flowers, and long golden locks, while the boy's story is done in the dark, taut-muscled style of comic books. Throughout, O'Malley depicts the girl and the boy\b reacting to the twists of the plot. A funny take on the age-old battle of the sexes, with an ending suited for the new millennium. --Todd Morning Copyright 2005 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Young readers who have ever been forcibly yoked to a rival for some class project will glory in this contentious oral report. Unable to agree on a folktale to tell their classmates, a lad and lass decide to make it up as they go. She starts, with Princess Tenderheart--rendered by Heyer in flowing silk gowns and blonde tresses--pining for her beloved ponies, which are being stolen one by one by a giant. Gagging, the storyteller's companion proceeds to add a huge dude who roars up on a chopper to provide protection, and to battle a giant that, in Goto's testosterone-soaked oils, is green but far from jolly. Meanwhile, instead of passively sitting by spinning straw into gold, the Princess starts pumping iron . . . and on the tale seesaws, to a more or less happily-ever-after. The unusual collaboration among illustrators works seamlessly, with O'Malley supplying the storytellers, and Heyer and Goto the characters on separate pages or spreads. This disarming, funny and not agenda-driven dig at the hot-button issue of gender differences is likely to excite plenty of giggles--and perhaps some discussion, too. (Picture book. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
